The 15 Best Pop Culture References in 'Gilmore Girls'

From Oompa Loompas to future presidential candidates.

CW

By
Kevin Porter

Nov 1, 2016

Happy Gilmore Month! On November 25, our favorite mother-daughter duo returns in Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. To celebrate, we're counting down until the bingefest begins, revisiting the show's best moments, debating Rory's boyfriends, and going all-out Gilmore every day for 25 days. First up, Kevin Porter, one-half of the podcast 'Gilmore Guys,' shares the best pop culture references from the pop culture-heavy series.

Gilmore Girls is a show in which the primary love language between the characters is pop culture references. With the breathe-and-you've-missed-it fast dialogue, the residents of Stars Hollow connect over their shared love of movies and judge based on their taste in TV. Here 15 of the best references, from Oompa Loompas to future presidential candidates.

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"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (Season 1, Episode 7)

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In the classic "Kiss and Tell", Lorelai invites Dean over for an awkward first movie-night date with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This makes sense because as far as Rory's boyfriends go, Dean is as romantically suave as an Oompa Loompa is good at dancing.

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"Oliver Twist" (Season 2, Episode 5)

From Jess Mariano's debut episode, Rory says "Goodnight Dodger" to which Jess replies "Oliver Twist" cementing a place in Rory's heart, and most viewers', through his literary prowess.

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"Master and Commander"(Season 5, Episode 3)

When we first meet Logan Huntzberger, we're not quite sure what to make of him. When he tells Rory "Master and Commander....that's what I want you to call me from now on" it's very clear how this relationship is going to go.

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"You will have Taylor Doose to kick around again" (Season 5, Episode 4)

For viewers who are both a fan of fast-talking women and deep political cuts, Taylor's defiant twist on Richard Nixon's infamous line from his last press conference hits the sweet spot.

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"We just had a very 'All The President's Men' moment" (Season 5, Episode 7)

In a line punctuating a breezy newsroom walk-and-talk with Rory, Doyle wins our affection with his sincerity and nerdy love for '70s political thrillers.

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"Oh my God, it's Natalie Wood!" (Season 3, Episode 21)

The wild detours into zaniness were some of the most delightful scenes on Gilmore. This wacky energy was manifest perfectly in the seemingly immortal wardrobe consultant Miss Celine (as played by the great Alex Borstein) who couldn't help but assign the characters on Gilmore Girls to their old Hollywood counterparts―Lorelei is Natalie Wood, while Rory is her Audrey Hepburn. Now that you mention it...

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"Cop Rock" (Season 5, Episode 13)

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For those not in the know (most of us), Cop Rock was a TV show from 1990 that combined genres of the procedural and the musical, ending in disastrous results. Cancelled after a mere 11 episodes, only Amy Sherman-Palladino would have the gall to reference her main characters throwing a marathon party for a show as esoteric as Cop Rock.

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"The Way We Were" (Season 5, Episode 14)

In the painful break-up episode "Say Something" Lorelai leaves a teary voicemail for Luke framed by the memory of the Redford/ Streisand classic, proving that the right reference can provide an equal amount of dramatic value as comedic. (Also, note the cassette tape voicemail!)

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"Offspring is your favorite band" (Season 1, Episode 15)

The entirety of the Lorelai/Christopher conflict could be boiled down to this line from the first season episode "Christopher Returns." Chris and Lorelai are two people who love each other and love their daughter, but have wildly different values as far as family and '90s alt rock bands go.

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"You don't have some guy staring at you like he's Cher and you're that kid from 'Mask!'" (Season 1, Episode 12)

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From Lorelai's disastrous "Double Date" with Jackson and Sookie and Cousin Rune, this nod to the Eric Stoltz drama from the '80s perfectly surmises how epically terrible Lorelai's night became.

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"Will Smith" (Season 7, Episode 17)

While struggling to connect with each other on a road trip, Lorelai suggests watching the 2005 movie The Pursuit of Happyness to her mother Emily. Two hours of Will Smith goodness is all Emily needs to stay in the room and, for a brief moment, reconcile the girls to one another.

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"Husbands and Wives" (Season 6, Episode 13)

This one's a bit of a deep cut, but most of the final act of the aptly named "Friday Night's Alright for Fighting" is based on a scene from Woody Allen's 1992 documentary drama Husbands and Wives. Done in ultra-stylized quick cuts, it shows the volatile peaks and valleys that come with having it out with the ones we love most.

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"Who wants to hear about the time I danced in a cage for Tito Puente?" ( Season 1, Episode 15)

Miss Patty's romantic history in showbiz is so wild it could probably be its own spin-off show. Your move, Netflix.

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The "Dean scream" (Season 4, Episode 18)

A reference from the now (comparatively sane) 2004 election, Kirk Gleason rallies the Stars Hollow troops by listing how many eggs they're gonna find by way of a Howard Dean impression, complete with the signature "YEAAHHHHH!!" at the end.

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"Hillary Clinton" (Season 5, Episode 2)

In an episode from 2004, Lorelai signs off on the phone with Luke by saying "See you when Hillary's President" proving that even 12 years ago, Gilmore Girls was both ahead of its time and timeless.

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